An Unconventional Relationship
by CeCeLa
Summary: Michelle Laroche Bonnefoy is a very atypical, unconventional girl in a seemingly atypical, unconventional relationship but what would you expect from girl who was practically raised by a group of friends affectionately calling themselves 'The Bad Touch Trio'.
1. An Atypical Girl

_I would like to dedicate this story to my friend Kae who was an awesome inspiration to this monstrosity. Please don't take this pairing too seriously, even I don't take it that seriously! Trust me, if you knew the craziness this story was birth from, you'd wonder what type of friends I have. They are awesome people by the way, and you wish you were as cool as they are!_

_ Anyways, I hope you enjoy this unconventional couple as much as I do!_

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******An Atypical Girl**

Michelle has always been just a tiny bit strange, just a little bit. By now, she totally accepts it and doesn't let it bother her. It's not like she can do much about it nowadays away. So yeah, maybe she prefers coconut water to regular water, and no, it's not her attempt to be hipster chic. The coconut water reminds her of her home and she probably won't drink water otherwise because it has no flavour. It's an islander thing, people! Maybe she prefers swimming at the beach to trying to learn the right way to apply makeup. So what if she could just as easily pick tomatoes or chase chickens around her friend's farm over looking up fashion trends. Michelle isn't afraid to get her hands dirty and prefers sometimes the quiet country life, a simple life, to high fashion and fruity lip-gloss. Not to mention her eccentric older brother, Francis, who probably is hands down, the most influential person in her life. Her brother has a bit of a reputation, to the point that bringing female friends home from school never really worked. Either they knew of her brother and had a major crush on him, or Francis 'introduced' himself and they would just beg to stay a bit longer. Michelle was never mad at him for it; she loves her brother and preferred hanging out with him and his older friends to the petty people in middle and high school. They love having her around too, and maybe, just maybe, that was the start of her other little quirk.

It's all Francis' fault really. Michelle used to watch him get ready in the mornings. Being five years older than her, he'd developed his own routine of grooming himself for hours, even down to counting his sprays of cologne (one on his left wrist, two on the back of his neck). Her brother was never shy when giving her dating advice either or explaining why he did certain things. Sometimes, she really wished he didn't go into so much detail about his escapades. Naturally, with such a high standard of man before her, Michelle couldn't be bothered with the petty guys in her own class. They were too immature, too hairless for her taste. Plus, she had the absolute biggest crush of Francis's friend Antonio. Ah, Antonio, he was so just perfect from his cheery smile to the way he would ruffle her hair and even, to her secret pleasure, pull her ears (he did that quite a lot). Not to mention that he always brought her snacks and Michelle is nothing if not a total fatty and would eat just about anything. Maybe because, unlike her brother, her cooking skills stop at making toast, toast sprinkled with cinnamon when she's being fancy. But Antonio always bought her churros and they would eat them with Francis and Gilbert.

Of course, she liked Gilbert too in his own way. But the albino scared her. Not because of the way he looked, or even acted, there was just something about him that made her feel really small. Gilbert, even though he was the oldest of the group, wasn't the tallest (Francis took that crown) or even very muscular though he had muscles, but Gilbert took up space. Like, she knew when he was in the house. Michelle could feel him on her skin because he carried this massive wave of restless energy that took up more room than his physical form ever could. She figured he would need a stronger girl than her to control all of the restlessness.

Antonio though, the sweetest Spaniard she ever meet, who sang her Spanish songs while he played his guitar. Antonio, who could in one minute be kind but in the next be very protective should anyone try to hurt her feelings or do her wrong. Antonio, who lounged around their house without a shirt, taking siestas on the couch in loose khaki shorts and flip-flops. Yes, the Antonio Carrideo who was the first boy she ever kissed. No, it wasn't in some weird paedophilic way because he wasn't like that at all. Francis was there and so was Gilbert and Antonio was just trying to help her because Michelle had never kissed a boy before and was scared because she was going on her first date. He suggested they play the pocky game with churros so she could practice. Some might say it was totally unconventional and unacceptable that a thirteen year old girl would play such a game with an eighteen year old boy, even more so with her brother there also offering tips on how she could take that churro from Antonio's lips. They would be right too, but Michelle has long since accepted that she is 'unconventional'. Kissing Antonio at least three times before switching to play the game with Gilbert (he totally bit her!) said it all. But it worked and both friends approved that she mastered the art of kissing and now Michelle can boast of being a greater kisser in her older years.

That's what brings her to position she's currently in as a twenty-year-old who has a fondness for older men, particularly tanned ones with a cheery disposition (like Antonio), body and facial hair who smelled nice (like Francis) and a certain aura of self-assured confidence that drew everyone's attention whether they want it to or not (like Gilbert).

Yes, Michelle Laroche Bonnefoy is a very atypical, unconventional girl in a seemingly atypical, unconventional relationship but what would you expect from a girl who was practically raised by a group of friends affectionately calling themselves 'The Bad Touch Trio'.

Michelle was bound to come out a little off and she's totally okay with that.

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_That's it! Chapter one with four more to go, maybe five. We'll see! Let me know what you think. This is my first time doing Seychelles or Ancient Rome so, you know, yeah! Your input would be awesome!_

_-CeCe ^_^_


	2. A Rather Average Start

**A Rather Average Start**

They first met coincidently because of Francis' birthday present for her. Her brother, a lover of all things beautiful, thought it would be nice to give his baby sister a gift card to a local spa. How nice of him, right? Michelle was, of course, extremely grateful for such a present and decided to use it right away.

Though the woman at the spa took her for a teenager, and it took her school ID, actual ID and credit card to convince the woman that she was indeed twenty. Not a very relaxing start to a spa treatment. The lady just put on one of those fake customer service tight smiles that always gave Michelle the creeps and told her she had an hour before her treatment actually started and encouraged the young woman to have a swim in the pool and enjoy the other spa amnesties like the Jacuzzi and saunas.

Michelle settled for the pool, and after putting on a simple one-piece swimsuit, she entered the pool area that was, sadly, overrun by wrinkled old people. "Well, what a pleasant sight," she thought, and lingered at the edge.

She loved swimming and the ocean and beach but she would hardly say that she was 'in shape' enough to get in the fast lane. No, Michelle sat at the edge of the slow lane and lowered herself into the shallow end. There was another man there, old, really old, like his skin looked like it was sagging off and he paddled his way up and down the slow lane. The old man smiled at her once as he came to her end before turning and swimming to the deep end. There was also a person in the middle lane powering through the water like a professional swimmer. Of course, Michelle couldn't see what the person looked like because they barely stopped for air but she envied them just a little as she slowly made her way from the shallow end to the deep end. Just that action, going from shallow to deep in half an Olympic sized pool left her winded but she forced her arms and legs to get her to the end where her feet could actually touch the ground. She noted that the lifeguard took a particular interest in her…not the kind of interest one would want. He must have thought she was going to drown. Well, he wouldn't have been wrong, she barely made it to the shallow end without having to grab hold of the wall. Wow, she was really out of shape, her thigh muscles ached already.

Middle lane guy, she found out was guy when he paused for like half a second to adjust his goggles, was still trudging on, powering through the water. The old man in the slow lane with her still paddled on and for a second Michelle thought of mimicking his dog like swimming style, at least the man could go a full lap with feeling like he was dying. Swimming was no fun when it was chore, she much preferred it when she was playing around with friends and splashing people. She looked at the clock and realized that she still had forty minutes to kill.

Well, damn.

This was supposed to be a relaxing experience, but so far, Michelle just felt both tense and out of place. Perhaps if the lifeguard stopped glancing at her every time she actually decided to swim it would take the pressure off. All in all, it was the beginnings of a very sucky spa day so Michelle decided to liven it up by seeing if she still held the record for holding her breathe the longest under water. She inhaled and dipped under, sinking to the bottom and holding her knees to keep herself from floating upward. After a few seconds she opened her eyes. The water stung only for a moment before her eyes adjusted. She saw saggy skin man still doggy paddling along. Her eyes darted to the left and middle lane powerhouse was still going. His body looked rather nice stretched out against the water as it was. His legs were powerful, kicking away water, with stronger arms displacing the unnecessary water from his way. Michelle watched him in admiration, shimming to the side a bit so saggy man wouldn't step on her. She stayed under long enough to see the powerhouse go from one end of the land to the other before she had to come up for air.

Michelle barely made a splash when she came out of the water. Apparently though, the lifeguard was freaked, as he was kneeling down and looking about ready to dive into the pool. Not to mention he scared the shit out of her, causing her to choke on water upon emerging face to face with a total stranger. Michelle coughed and inhaled air; blinking rapidly to get the water from her eyes so she could address the curious stare. But he wasn't the only one giving her stares; the powerhouse seemed to have turned his attention to her as well. What? Did no one play the 'hold long can you hold your breathe game as a child?

"Yes?" Michelle asked in all of her accented English. Damn her French speaking adoptive family.

The lifeguard gestured to the water and then to her. Michelle followed his gestured and glanced at the powerhouse who just smiled in return. She quickly looked back to the lifeguard. "Are you okay?" He asked her. She nodded like an idiot before actually answering.

"I was just holding my breath." She told him.

The man raised his brow, "You were under for almost a minute. I was about to jump in and get if you didn't come back up soon."

"I'm good at it…?" she tried to reason though, honestly, wasn't sure what he wanted her to say. She was good at holding her breath under water and that was about the only talent she possessed.

The man looked a bit terrified and she was, for a moment, confused at why he was staring at her like that. What, did he thing she was trying to drown herself?

Oh God he _did_ think she was trying to drown herself and, suddenly, Michelle felt a bit smaller with both men looking worriedly in her direction.

Her answer appeared to have sufficed (thank heavens) as the lifeguard forcefully laughed it off and stood up. He turned to the powerhouse guy, to which Michelle looked at him as well, and he said, "I thought you were the only one with talent here, Jules."

Jules? Interesting name and 'Jules' just smiled a very attractive smile for an older guy and she noticed the wrinkles near his eyes and laugh lines near his mouth. His skin was a nice tawny colour, complete with patches of body hair on his chest and arms that lay flat against his skin because of the water.

"I think it's a good talent," 'Jules' finally said and Michelle should have probably guessed that he was Italian…he just looked like the stereotypical Italian man. The curly hair on his head should have been a dead giveaway. "I can't do that," the last bit he direct towards her and she could have burst into flames at the sparkly brown coloured eyes giving her his full attention.

"It's just from a childish game," Michelle may as well have whispered because of how low she was speaking but 'Jules' heard her just fine and leaned against the ropes that separated the lanes, goggles pressed against his forehead making it look like he had two sets of eyes.

"Are you new here?" he asked and she shook her head.

"Yeah, this is my first time her," Michelle said and smiled a small smile at him. She didn't trust herself to do more than that.

Jules smiled brighter at that and pushed his goggles up into his hair, "Oh nice. Are you here with Martha," he pointed to an older black lady that had been roasting away in the Jacuzzi, "Are you her daughter?"

Michelle wasn't even bothered by the stereotype that all black people look alike because a ray of sunshine was smiling at her. She briefly thought about kissing those wrinkles in the corners of his eyes. Would that be creepy? Maybe? Yes, very creep and too much like her brother. Kissing people she didn't know wasn't her style.

"No," Michelle answered him shyly and he looked confused for a moment but only for a moment before brightening up as she clarified, "I'm not her daughter. I'm just here for the spa, wasting time in the pool really."

Jules laughed and really was like in those movies where someone's laughs sounds like birds flying or ocean waves or something sappy like that. It was a booming sound, something like the cracking of wood in a fireplace that gave her the warm fuzzys. Michelle ducked under the water a bit.

"Don't be shy bella! Your 'wasting time' almost gave the guard a heart attack." He reached his hand over the rope in her directions. "I'm Julius." He introduced himself.

Michelle extended her hands as well, "Michelle, nice to meet you."

Julius gave her a firm handshake before letting go and ducking under the water himself. He came up on her side and she tried to discreetly back away because he was big. Like, he felt like he took up the hold land or maybe she was just so tiny compared to him. Maybe he noticed, maybe he didn't. Michelle'll never know because he just winked before swimming toward the latter.

"Hopefully you'll come back and teach me that holding your breath game," Julius said as he climbed out of the pool. "Ciao, cioccobella."

She just nodded like some silly high school girl and tried very hard and failed not to look at his ass when he climbed up those stairs. Michelle watched him go from the pool to join Martha in the Jacuzzi.

She took a deep breath and ducked under the water again, this time to cool her temperaments from talking to the powerhouse that was Julius.

The next time she saw Julius was on the side of the freeway in the afternoon on a particularly warm fall day, warm enough for Michelle to wear short sleeves with a pair of boy cut ripped jeans. It was a totally unexpected meeting and mainly based on her horrible luck that her tire blew out. No other cars were on the freeway at the time. That was a good thing because she avoided an accident. It was also a bad thing because Michelle, being the clever girl that she was, had no spare tire and was stuck trying to get a signal on her phone to call Lili, her flatmate, and praying that someone would drive by. She was already late for her class, so going to university was out of the question, so if Lili would just come and save her, that would have been nice.

Instead as she sat on the hood of her car, legs dangling because she's barely tall enough to reach the ground when she's standing, Michelle held her phone up and squinted. A car slowed, crushing rocks as it pulled over in front of her car on the freeway shoulder. She put her arm down and looked at the rear of a rather expensive car. If it was some weirdo eccentric billionaire, Michelle was ready to tell them that she was just waiting for a friend to catch up to her and everything was fine. However, she was pleasantly shocked to see a rather familiar sunshine smile and brown curly hair. He didn't have his second pair of eyes in the form of goggles but Julius was dressed rather nicely in navy blue dress pants, a canary yellow button down shirt (she totally noticed the first two undone buttons) and a matching navy causal blazer. He was a lot taller outside of the pool, broader as well with thick arms and a cheery disposition.

Michelle recognized him instantly (she thought about him only for like the rest of the week after her spa visit) but wondered if he'd care to remember a shy island girl from the pool.

"Cioccobella," So he did remember…well, "I thought we had an agreement." Julius walked up to her but peeked around to check out her busted tire and shook his head.

Michelle jumped off the hood, a sheepish smile on her face, "Did we?"

For a moment, he looked genuinely hurt that she'd forgotten whatever agreement they made.

"The next time we met, you were supposed to teach me that game of yours." Oh, he was serious…? "Of course I was serious! I never joke with beautiful women." He thought she was beautiful…?

Michelle had no idea how to response to that so she gestured lamely at the pieces of rubber that hung from her tire rim, "I can't help it if my tire had other plans."

Julius just laughed his boisterous laugh and grinned in her direction. "Where's your spare?" Again, she gestured to the tire that was her spare in tatters on the pavement. Why was he finding everything she did so god damn funny!

"Women are so hopeless sometimes."

"Is that a sexist joke?"

"Would you been offended if it was?"

"Only if you don't take offense to me saying men can be idiots and assholes."

Julius laughed again and Michelle just smiled because his laughter reminded her of a certain Spaniard from times past.

"Bella, bella, come on," he started back toward his car, " There's a tire shop not too far from here where you can buy a spare."

She nodded, opening her car door to gather her computer bag and keys before getting into his Ferrari. Oh, smelled like new leather and aftershave in there and she settled into the plush passenger seat as Julius started the car that barely purred when he pressed the start button. It was on this car ride from the freeway to the nearest tire shop that she learned that Julius was an investment banker as well as antiques art dealer, the latter more so these days than the former. She learned that he was forty-two years old, twenty-two years her senior and he learned that she majored in horticulture because keeping plants alive was a lot easier than a pet alive. They both learned that they liked the beach, swimming and sunshine, chocolate and a good movie.

By the time they got to the tire shop, Michelle was too giddy to process that she just rode a few miles with a man she barely knew. Julius was nice, bubbly and confident and she liked him. Screw the fact that she didn't know anything aside from the little knowledge that she's just gained. She wasn't about to complain, it was her first time in a Ferrari.

There were things she noticed about him; like how when they addressed one of the workers, Julius had a commanding way about him that demanded the utmost respect. Maybe it was years as an investment banker that gave him that air of confidence. Or maybe it was the deep rumble of his voice or his big hands and long strides. Whatever it was, the sales person was eager to please him in their quest for a tire perfect for her old car. She also noticed that he liked to touch, to be specific he liked to touch her, particularly on her lower back. Like when they walked into the shop, he guided her in with a gentle nudge to her lower back that made Michelle's skin tingle. And when they walked up to the person helping them, he did it again. Every time they switched aisle, that hand was there and it was distracting when the guy was asking her questions about her car. Michelle could hardly focus with that hand burning a hole into her back muscles; she was both relieved and sad when they finally picked out a spare. It meant she could relax her shoulders and that Julius wouldn't have an excuse to touch her now that they were back into his car. It was fun while it lasted, she supposed.

Julius helped her get her new old tire on, meaning she stood over him and watched as he explained and demonstrated the process. It's worth noting that Michelle was too busy wondering if his hair was really as soft as it seemed to remember most of the steps. She also took the opportunity to sniff his jacket while he wasn't looking. It wasn't in a creepy way but, thanks to Francis, she was rather fond of nice cologne. Julius wore something that smelled of warm sandalwood and a hint of rose or some really soft flowery scent. It was nice. She liked it. She also managed to pull the suit jacket away and look like she was paying attention when Julius finally stood up. Michelle handed over his jacket and thanked him for his time. She was sure this would be the end of their rendezvous until,

"It's late, let's get dinner." Julius declared in that voice that said we _are_ getting dinner. Or at least that's what it sounded like to her.

Michelle looked at him surprised, "Now?"

"Si, right now." Julius was already headed to his Ferrari, "Bring your car. I know a place."

Just like that, she was following him through the city, a feat that was not easily done because Julius drove like a speed demon and her little girl car couldn't go that fast if she wanted it to. It was only by the skin of her teeth that she was able to find the restaurant at all, not many people in the city drive around in a red Ferrari. Julius was easy to spot. Upon pulling up to the place though, Michelle felt horribly underdressed in her ripped jeans and plan t-shirt. The place looked like a middle scale Italian restaurant, not your local Olive Garden, which even came with a valet. But Julius ushered her in with his reassuring smile and a hand to her lower back. Somehow, she didn't feel so out of place anymore when he was so close.

They ordered pizza and Julius picked a suitable wine after having a miniature taste test. He and their waiter conversed in perfect Italian while Michelle nibbled on the free bread and olive oil until the food came.

They talked about everything. Julius told her about his two children, two boys, the first he had when he was twenty. He talked about how nervous he was when he found that the woman (also twenty at the time) was pregnant. Their parents pressured them to get married so they did but it didn't last long; they got a divorce six years later. By then, she'd had a second child who was four while the eldest was six. Neither of them wanted to split the boys up nor could they afford to take care of both of them. In the end, Julius took the youngest, Feliciano and his ex-wife the eldest, Lovino. He never married after that and had since been living the single dad life. Feliciano was a cheerful twenty year old while Lovino was twenty-two and finishing his college years. Michelle wondered if she'd ever seen Lovino since they both when to the same university even though she was two years older than him.

She'd have to check that out.

In the mean time, Michelle told him about her being adopted at four years old from a small African island called Seychelles. She told him about her grandfather who tried very hard to take care of her because both of her parents died but he couldn't afford to, plus he was just too old to deal with such an active small child. So he put her up for adoption and Francis' parents were the first to want her. She told him how her and Francis were inseparable as kids despite their five-year age difference. He kept her from getting picked on and even Francis' friend Gilbert and Antonio didn't mind having her around. Of course, after their parents died, their bond grew even stronger and Francis became more than just a big brother, he was her legal guardian. Luckily their parents left them a nice house and a hefty inheritance. It helped that Francis made a decent living as a stylist and she had excellent grades to get into university on scholarships alone. She told him how she kept in contact with her family from Seychelles and that her grandfather, though old, was still around and well. She told him how she dreamed of going back there some day just to remember what the sand feels like.

Michelle and Julius talked and drank and drank some more and midway through the second bottle of wine, Julius must have realized that her alcohol limit was set rather lower. That was trait she didn't inherit from her brother, his seemingly limitless ability to consume wine. Michelle was tempted to fall asleep right their on the restaurant table.

"I think it's time we go home, si," Julius announced, then poked her in the nose with his finger, "Can you drive?"

Michelle shook her head in the negative not trusting herself not to fall asleep at the wheel. She'd just replaced her tire; she didn't want to replace an entire car.

He laughed his infectious laughed that made her giggle and hiccup.

"I had fun though," Michelle told him and, thankfully, she didn't slur her words. Maybe she wasn't as drunk as thought.

Nope, she took that back after she bumped into another couple's table.

Julius followed the carefully explained instructions to get her home where Lili took over the caring process. In the morning, Michelle woke up to off pissed off hangover and a beautifully hand written note and her keys on the bedside table. The note, in Julius' script like penmanship reminded her of where her car was and also included two aspirins and a reminder for Lili to provide her with some water, which her roommate did. And at the very bottom was the elegant signature of Julius Vargas and a phone number.

Michelle screamed into her pillow.

She took the aspirin soon after.

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A/N: So, what do you think of their first meeting? And their second meeting for that matter? Your input is awesomely appreciated!

-CeCe ^^


	3. I Really So Hate You Right Now

**I Really So Hate You Right Now**

Michelle was grateful for two things. The first being her brother's eccentrics that extended to her present apartment accommodation. Yes, apartment, because her brother was relatively rich and when he saw the university accommodations, he refused to let his little sister live in such a place lacking in beauty. So he got her an apartment close enough so that the university was in walking distance, as well as the city centre.

The second thing Michelle was grateful for was that her flatmate Lili (a sweet little thing from some country she can't remember) didn't find her interest in older men weird. In fact, Lili agreed that Julius had a way about him that even made her blush. For the next few days, the two of them discussed plans on how to repay him for his kindness without coming on too strong. They went through a plethora of ideas before Lili suggested that the best way was to reciprocate with another dinner date. Michelle agreed and a few squeals and deep breaths later, she finally gave Julius a call. He didn't answer so she left a message thanking him for getting her home safely; taking her to the tire shop and fixing her tire then offered a lunch meeting as a token of her appreciate.

Two weeks after, Michelle buried herself in horticulture homework, ice cream and action movies because Julius didn't call her back. Not even a text to say, '_I got your message but sorry, I'm not interested'. _Lili, a computer science major and technology whiz, even rigged the cable so that they got cable and Internet for free from their neighbours. It made Michelle feel a little bit less rejected. She felt even better when Gil stopped by because he was in town. But that soon went to shit because the albino took to flirting with her roommate and Michelle just felt forever alone.

That was, of course, until Lili came into her room on a Friday, the only day she didn't have classes and gentle roused her awake in that Tinkerbelle voice of hers.

"I'm sorry to wake you, Chelle, but," Lili lowered her voice to a whisper, "A certain Italian is at the door for you."

Michelle just about jumped up, fighting with sheets as looked around. She looked an absolute mess, hair all everywhere, a bit of drool from her afternoon nap and the fact that she was in a wrinkled old t-shirt didn't help her look at all.

"Now?" Michelle asked her roommate, confused and frustrated at his sudden appearance.

Lili just nodded and pointed toward her closed door. "He's in the living room."

The woman groaned and threw herself back onto her pillows but that didn't stop Lili from adding, "He's waiting for you."

Well, that took the pressure off.

Now she didn't really have time to change and, quite frankly, didn't believe he deserved to see her get all dolled up just for him. Maybe if he saw this scary sight of her, it would scare him off for good. Michelle pulled back the sheets and climbed out of bed.

"You're going out let that?" Lili asked as she hurried after her.

"Yup," Michelle said dryly but did make a small effort to fix her hair. She didn't want to look a complete mess.

"Um," Lili pressed her fingers together, looking down at her shifting feet, "Maybe you should put a bra on first…"

Oh. Right.

After putting on a bra and underwear for that matter, Michelle marched into the living room in her crumpled t-shirt that was twice her size, complete with a huge picture of Tweety Bird's face on it. And in all of her short stature glory, she tried her best to look both pissed and disinterested in him as she folded her arms and stood opposite the sofa. Julius obviously noticed her negative energy or the fact that she wasn't wearing pants judging the grin on his face.

"Ciao, bella," Julius pushed himself off the sofa to stand and, again, Michelle felt a lot smaller than she really was but wouldn't back down. "I guess I have to apologize, si."

She looked away from him. "For what?"

He seemed to move and she glanced at him to see him pulling his phone out of his pocket. He kept his head as he looked over it. "I got your message a bit too late, I think now. Has the invitation to dinner expired?"

"That was two weeks ago," she pointed out, trying her best to look like a woman scorned.

Julius nodded and smiled, "I know see," he scratched the back of his head, "I went to Tanzania because they found this really great tribal artefact and can you believe they don't have service there?"

She really wished she could just wipe that adorable grin from his handsome face, with those crinkles in his eyes…and his laugh lines. The stubble wasn't half bad either; in fact, it made him look even more attractive.

Michelle totally hated this man.

"Hhm well," Michelle huffed and looked away. Be strong woman! "That was convenient for you, wasn't it?"

Julius, much to her surprise and annoyance, laughed. He out right laughed at her and stepped around their little coffee table to close the distance, but not too close. There were still a few feet between them. "Why are you so upset, bella?" He asked, no, cooed to her.

Michelle blushed and bit her lip, looking at him now. Was she really being that transparent? "Because, you can't just come to somebody's house and demand to have dinner with them two weeks after the invitation."

He raised a brow and tilted his head. "Can you?"

"No!" said Michelle incredulously.

"But I thought the dinner was a 'thank you' for what I did." It was but…"Do you not want to thank me anymore?" …That's not what she meant..."Are you taking back your thank you?"

She huffed and dropped her arms. He had a point but Michelle wasn't about to be the fool here. She squared her shoulders and walked up to him, extended her hand, "Thank you, Julius, for helping me with my car and taking me to dinner afterwards. You're a very kind man and you're kindness is much appreciated." She raised a challenging brow, waiting for him to take her hand.

Julius looked down at her hand and then to her. Michelle held her resolve for all of the ten seconds it took him to chuckle, take her hand in both of his; his thumb rubbing circles into her downturned palm didn't go unnoticed before he pressed it to him lips. Aw hell! Hell no, she was not about to fall for those golden eyes, gleaming at her while he held that kiss a little too long.

"Prego," Julius finally mumbled onto the back of her hand, while his hand still massaged away, "ma, non essere così freddo, tu sei troppo bella." What? "Dare questo vecchio una piccola misericordia…" Maybe she didn't know Italian but French was relatively similar enough for her to pick up bits and pieces.

She flipped the script, "Tu flirte avec moi en italien?"

Julius blinked and pulled away, then grinned, still holding her hand. "Est français mieux?"

"Non," Michelle stated clearly, "English is just fine."

"Is that a yes to dinner, then? Don't be so mean to such an old man. My heart can't take it."

She rolled her eyes playfully, "Very smooth. Fine, you can have your thank you dinner."

So they went to dinner, lunch technically, after she changed and Lili silently cheered them on. It was a nice place, very casual, where she could get a chicken burger and him pasta.

When he brought her home, Julius did what most European did and kissed her left cheek, then her right…then her left cheek again with a hand brushing ever so light over her arm. Freaking Italians, man. They parted ways with a few texts here and there and Julius never failed to send one ending in 'bella' or 'cioccobella'. That would make any girl feel all-warm inside.

Of course, those 'romantic' gestured got a bit confusing. Okay, a lot confusing for poor Michelle. That led to the extremely awkward and uncomfortable moment of their first kiss.

To her credit, Michelle would plead that it was all Julius and the alcohol's fault for sending mixed signals to her brain. The good thing about it was that, she didn't embarrass him at the little antique art showing she was invited to where they showcase that 'artefact' he went chasing after in Tanzania. She'd been on her best behaviour though she could honestly say half the time she didn't have a clue what was going on. It was fun to watch people fawn over what looked to her like an old chest. It was beautiful though…it because even more beautiful after her third glass of wine…and so did Julius.

He looked extremely professional, chatting up other dealers and potential buyers. Red was definitely his colour, she mused from afar as Julius had decided on a black suit with a red shirt and silvery-grey tie. He moved about the room, reminding her of a certain albino friend who had the ability to draw attention to himself by simply showing up. Unlike Gilbert though, Julius didn't have to go around announcing his greatness. It showed itself is his stride and intellect and reason. For the women, it appeared in his flirtatious grin or the way he would touch their shoulder but his hand would eventually slide to the middle of their backs. Michelle wasn't sure how she felt about that.

He flirted like Francis and, ugh, thinking about one's brother while inconspicuously ogling a guy you kind of like didn't really go together.

Naturally, she replaced those thoughts with more alcohol and Michelle found herself being quite the chatterbox with these people that she had nothing in common with. One man thought it was her artefact and, this time, she didn't hold back telling that just because she was black, didn't mean it was hers. For some reason they took it as a joke though she was completely serious. Suddenly, she became a focal point of the affair. A pint-sized, Seychellois woman with a healthy blush and cheery disposition about her was bound to get some attention, though she hadn't bargained for the crowd she drew.

This, of course, drew the attention of one Julius Vargas who proudly showed her off to anyone wanting to talk to her. He stayed in close proximity and his body heat matched with the wine in her system wasn't helping her decipher his actions. Had she been sober, Michelle would have politely opened the distance between them, played hard to get at least. Instead, when she felt herself swooning, Michelle grabbed his arm. Julius didn't move so she stayed attached to his side.

By the end of the night, the number of wine glasses was long since forgotten. Michelle learned two things that night. First, Julius was as warm as his tawny skin made him look. His grip was strong when he wrapped his arms around her to keep the poor dear from tumbling. Good God, he looked so absurdly colorful up close, hues of browns, reds, greens and gold. But that was only because of the streetlights they walked under leading to her apartment. It wasn't connected with alcohol, even if Michelle for a moment felt the urgent need to drink him in a one gulp and then…then…

Then Julius laughed as they walked along the hall of her apartment complex and he caught her again and one, two, three, four, "Humor me," he said as they danced some incoherent odd sort of salsa, one, two…

"Are you crazy?" Michelle whispered and pulled rapidly to get away but laughed with him as they spun for a few more moments before he let her go. Instinctively she stared down the corridor to check if there was someone who might have saw.

"Come one, cioccobella, no one saw us." He flashed his teeth in a smile and leaned a little too close for her to understand that he was doing the tradition European goodbye kiss, one on the left, than the right and then a lingering one on her left cheek.

The second thing Michelle learned was that alcohol made her bolder than she normally was without it and a hell of a lot more spontaneous. She was, initially, going to reciprocate that lingering affection but instead leaned forward, eyes closing. She leaned until she felt softness and warmth on her lips, and, when did her arms circle his neck? Oh well, Michele was fully prepared when her sweet little tongue flicking over his lips to kiss him more when she realized..._he_ wasn't kissing _her_. As she pulled back, her eyes mirrored his look of confused alarm, if not more mortified at the turn of events.

That's when Michelle realized she'd made a huge fucking mistake.

* * *

**Translation Online**:

1-_Thank you, but don't be so cold, you're too nice. Give this old man one small mercy._

_2-Are you flirting with me in Italian?_

_3-Is French better?_

_Okay! I just want to apologize to everyone. I lied. I said this would only be like 6 chapters and it seems it might be 8. Pfff, but no more I say! No more than 8, hopefully, maybe. We shall see._

_-CeCe ~.^_


	4. And So It Goes

**And So It Goes**

He called two days later and Michelle just stared at the phone in petrified horror, as it played 'We no speak Americano'. She let it go to voicemail but he didn't leave a message. The next day, he called again and she took a few deep breaths before she answered the phone. By then he'd already hung up. Several texts were started but never sent. A few times she let her hand linger over the little green phone thing so that she could call, none of which resulted in actually going through with it. Michelle didn't know what to say so saying nothing at all seemed like the best bet.

Two weeks went by. Julius never called back.

Naturally, Michelle went to the one person that always cheered her up and lit even the gloomiest of days with sunshine. Antonio seemed overjoyed when he got a phone call for some extra hands on the farm. She was just overjoyed that his voice hadn't seemed to change in years.

"I thought you'd be taller by now!" he said, walking up to her, shirtless even though it was a bit chilly outside. Michelle noted the little beads of sweat about his neck and assumed he'd gotten to work early.

He leaned down and scooped her in crushing hug that lifted her tiny frame from the ground and pressed her into his sweaty, dirty speckled chest. _Mmhm, Antonio._

"Chelle?"

She blinked, "Hm?"

Antonio looked at her a bit concerned, though he had yet to but her down and this proximity was screwing with her thought process. "Are you ok? I mean, you look mucho lindo when you space out like that."

"I'm fine now," Michelle answered. How cheesy, lady. But Antonio still laughed it off.

"If you say so, hermosa."

Hermosa meant beautiful in Spanish. Beautiful in Italian was bella…Julius called her bella. Ack! Michelle squirmed out of Antonio's grip.

"So, about that work?" she quickly changed the subject looking away at the rows of vegetation and trees ready for harvesting. It should keep her mind occupied for a few hours at least.

Hopefully.

Something plopped on her head and Michelle looked up as Antonio secured the straw hat over her hair and smiled. "I found it in the shed!"

She reached up to touch it and straighten it but didn't remove it. Well, it looked nice with her two messy braids that were secured by red ribbons. "Let's get to work!"

She started with ripping every non-edible plant out of that very large walled garden. The farm wasn't that big really, just a few rows of vegetables and fruit trees, the main crop being tomatoes. Of course, it wasn't her friend's livelihood; Antonio was a kindergarten teacher but having the farm made for a great fieldtrip. The children loved coming out here to gallop through the fields or feed the chickens. Since Antonio lived alone, the kids sort of acted as free labor. Sort of.

For Michelle though, the tedium of bundling plant stalks and the grunt labour of mixing fertilizer were all too relaxing for a country girl such as herself. She felt just as comfortable in her dusty, torn, rudely stained denim overalls hanging off her shoulders with a red tube-top underneath and muddy work-boots that swallowed her feet as she would in a sundress. She didn't even mind the occasional nick or scratch of something biting her arms or neck, because the fertile black soil under all the weeds and vines was what she was after.

After ridding the plants of weeds, she moved from the garden to the fruit grove. Antonio offered her some heavy-duty gloves and a pair of shears. Michelle spent most of the time moving the ladder from one side of the tree to the other so she could prune branches and leaves. It was a cool day but midway through her labor the sweat started to set in and she tossed away the hat so she could see well.

She had to reach on her toes to get the very top of Antonio's cherry tree that was being more stubborn than his apple tree. Huffing, she was in the middle of reaching too far when she felt the ladder suddenly come free and begin to fall, her world slowing right down as the vertigo of an impending plummet caught her like a net. The shears fall from her hand-

"Woah," _Omgthisisgonnahurt _– "Michelle!"

For a split-second she's grateful she wasn't too high up, because one moment she's falling, awaiting impending doom and the next she's squeezing her eyes shut, prepared for the impact that wasn't quite as hard as thought. Her head was pounding and her chest felt weak and sore, but that could have been from the sudden burst of adrenaline that accompanies knowing you're about to fall to your death.

"Michelle?" Huh? "Dammit- Michelle! Are you okay?" Who the-? "Hey! Answer me!"

Michelle opened her eyes under the dappled sunlight to find that she was being cradled next to a particularly warm chest with strong arms. A booming voice that rumbled deep in his chest against her ears making her close her eyes again for a moment. Tawny skin looked so golden against the green leaves and sunlight that he looked sort of like an enchanted dream.

"Julius?" Michelle finally mumbled.

"Who? What? No, Chelle, it's me, Antonio." He shook her just a bit and she focused her vision on his face. "Are you okay?"

Antonio? So it would seem.

"I'm fine. I just…"

"You fell from my tree," he said matter-of-factly and sat her on her feet, "For a second there I thought I was gonna have to call Francis and apologize for putting you in the hospital."

She held on to him until her legs stopped shaking. Then let go so she could look up at the tree that almost caused her demise.

"Maybe you should take a break," Antonio suggested and she looked at him while he also gazed at the tree.

"I'm fine," she said and shrugged.

He pressed on, "Well, I was coming to tell you someone was looking for you anyways so you kinda have to."

Someone was looking for her? Here?

"Is it Lili?"

Antonio beamed a charming grin at her. "It's a guy, amigo."

A guy? Looking for her? Here? Michelle was doubtful but Antonio just kept beaming a lopsided grin her direction. "Fine," she conceded and went to gather her things. She sat the hat half-heartedly on her head and picked up the sheers and the small basket she had with various ripened fruits in it.

She and Antonio walked from the fruit grove while her mind contemplated who could be here for her.

_You know who…_Shut up brain!

Naturally, her brain was right. As they made it to the edge of the grove, Michelle spotted the lone figure sticking out amongst rows of greenery. Julius appeared to be checking out the place, fiddling with something in his hand as he stood near the tomato fields. Antonio patted her shoulders and she looked to see him wagging his eyebrows, looking also like Gilbert minus the whole albino thing. She rolled her eyes in response and shoved the handle of the shears in his gut for him to take. He feigned pain and took the shears just as Julius seemed to notice them approaching.

Antonio veered off toward his shed and Michelle, well; she clung to her basket of mixed fruit and chanted a mantra to keep calm as she approached him.

Julius looked down and eyed her for just a moment before meeting her gaze.

Michelle was not amused.

"Lili told me where I could find you," he finally said and she noted that he toyed with his car keys before casually slipping them into his pants pocket.

"What are you doing here?" she countered, being sure to sound as indifferent as possible…even if her heart was beating at an alarming.

He didn't seem bothered by her indifference at all and kept his cool demeanor. "You disappeared without letting me explain myself."

"Based on what you said and your actions, I understand how you feel loud and clear, thank you." She retorted sarcastically and pushed the basket further up her hips, "So maybe you should just go, Julius."

He raised a disbelieving brow at her and stayed put, "You want me to leave without letting me explain myself?"

Michelle wanted, very desperately to stay detached and seem unmoved. She didn't want him to know how embarrassed and hurt she felt over the whole kissing incident. She didn't want to give him the satisfaction of knowing how emotionally involved she already was.

But people very rarely get what they want and, just like them, she failed in her exploits and her emotions exploded.

"What is there to explain? You kiss someone; they don't kiss you back. They call you two days after the incident. Two days, Julius! Without so much as leaving a message and then just disappear."

"I wanted to talk to you, not a machine." Julius said, still calm, still cool but she just rolled her eyes at him. "Why are you so upset, bella?"

And there it was. That phrase that made Michele feel like he knew something about her that she didn't. Even if his eyes looked pleading, Michelle glared at him and squeezed her hands around the handle of the basket.

"Call me crazy but maybe, just maybe its because I put myself out there and kissed a guy who just looked at me in return."

"You'd had several glasses of wine," Julius pointed out. "Want did you want me to do?"

Michelle grunted and looked away, letting the rim of her hat hide half her face. "Kiss me back, you idiot! Because I thought that's the direction we were going what with all of your flirting, and bella this and cioccobella that and the lingering kisses and stuff."

He took a step forward, drawing her attention. He frowned, looking down at her as he did so. "You were drunk, what kind of man do you take me for?"

"Clearly the kind of guy who likes to jerk girls around by saying pretty things to get them all involved and then leave them." Michelle said with enough sarcasm and annoyance to get her point across.

"So I kiss you back and then what, huh?" Julius questioned, his cool demeanor slipping with indignation in his tone. "You wake up the next morning and either don't remember it or be pissed at me for taking advantage of you."

"I wasn't _that_ drunk!"

"You could hardly stand on your own, Michelle." It was the first time he'd called her by her name. But the way he spat the word out like venom, it made her take a half step back. "I didn't just leave. I called you, twice, and you didn't so much as send me one of text that you love so much."

She chuckled without humor. "After completely embarrassing myself by displaying an affection that _you _obviously didn't want, did you really think I wanted to talk to you and get shot down again?"

Julius grunted in disbelief, "You're right, I didn't want to kiss you _then_. A sloppy, drunken kiss isn't exactly my ideal. Instead of calling be back to asking why, your solution to the problem was to avoid me instead?"

"Worked fine for the past two weeks for me," she practically sang the words.

Now it was Julius' turn to look peeved. He bit his lip as if holding back words and looked away from her for a moment to tug a hand through his hair. She waited for him, prepared with a comeback until he exhaled and removed his keys from his pocket.

Was he leaving?

He turned away completely and she was prepared to give him a farewell of her middle finger before Julius turned around so quickly, she clung to her basket in startled shock.

"You're impossible you know that," he pointed a finger at her. No smiles, no cheery disposition, just frowns and heightened emotions. "A walking breathing, contradiction of passive-aggressive stubbornness."

Michelle held her ground and turned her nose up at him, "Oh, well, thank you for your generous observation of my character." He wasn't the only one peeved here and she wasn't about to show how his booming voice just scared the hell out of her.

Her comment succeeded in making him growl in frustration. Julius grumbled something in Italian that she couldn't quite catch before he switched to English, "See, that right there is exactly what I mean. You claim to want something but everything you say and do completely contradict it. I can't read your mind, woman. I stand next you, you inch away. I tried to hold your hand and you slip it from mine. I try to talk to you and you keep me at a distance with subtle sarcasm, yet from that you wanted me to assume that you actually intended to kiss me that night?"

"Oh my God, its call playing hard to get," she yelled incredulously, "Is the concept of playing hard to get something foreign to you? "

Julius locked his jaws and narrowed his eyes and, in that moment, Michelle saw his age. It was a look that made her feel incredibly small with those eyes boring at her.

"Hard to get, you're playing hard to get? Do I look like a toy to you that you can jerk around and watch me dance? I don't play games, bella; I'm too old for that. If I want something I take it. When I wanted to take you to dinner; I told you. I went to your house to _get you_. When I want to talk, I call you. When I want to see you, I come to a tomato farm in the middle of fucking nowhere. If hard to get is all you can offer, than maybe it's best that I leave it where it was."

Michelle was silent as he was on a roll. She could understand now how he was such a good arts dealer. Those eyes felt like they stripped her bare and gaze at her soul.

Julius exhaled but his eyes were still fiery and she could see that she'd made him upset, "Do you honestly think you're the only one who had apprehensions about this whole thing?" he pointed to himself, "You think I make it habit of going around talking to twenty year olds at the pool, knowing that the only reason some that young would entertain me is because-,"

"Because, why?" she pointedly interrupted with narrowed eyes. If he said what she thought he was going to say…

An irritated huff escaped before he answer, "Don't give me that look, you know what I was going to say and you know it's true."

"Is that why you didn't kiss me back?"

"…I didn't say that," He said but she just kept talking over him.

"Because you think I'm only interested in you because of you're money? Do you think I'm some kind of gold digger who goes around preying on old men? You asked me what kind of man do I think you are, well what kind of woman do you take me for?" She asked but hardly gave Julius time to reply. She'd just been insulted and she was on a roll now.

"I have my own money,"

"-Michelle,"

"…My own car, my own apartment that was paid for by my brother. "

"Michelle,"

"I'm in school, on scholarship and am capable of working and paying my own way, thank you very much. I don't need your money or you for that matter."

"For the love of—shut up!" Julius yelled, "Stop putting words in my mouth. I don't think that about you. I know you're not a gold digger or, at the very least, I'm hoping you're not. Despite you being slightly crazy obviously and a pain in the ass; I like you."

She opened her mouth the closed it.

She wasn't a pain in the ass and this argument wasn't getting them anywhere. He'd admitted to liking her, which was all she really wanted to hear anyway.

"Okay fine," Michelle agreed, "you like me, so what now?"

"You tell me what you want." Julius' automatically replied.

She looked at him to see that he was completely seriously. "What?'

"What you want. What do you want, Michelle?" he stated, "No games, no playing hard to get nothing. You tell me, now, what it is you want from me."

Michelle bit her lip and looked down, the hat covering her eyes. "You know what I want, Julius," her voice sounded as small as she felt before him.

"No," he damn near commanded and walked closer. He reached a hand to lift her face up to look at him. "No, don't you do that. Don't back down from me now. Say it, Michelle, just say what you want."

She jerked her held away from his hand. Julius didn't protest but threw his hands up and grunted in annoyance when she didn't say anything.

"Jesus, woman-,"

"I want you take me on a date," She finally blurted out, cutting through his impatient protest. She was squeezing that damn basket so hard the weaving of burning her palms, "a proper date. No art shows or causal lunches."

He nodded. "Anything else?"

She thought for a moment before adding, "The next time I kiss you, kiss me back."

He nodded again, "That can be arranged. Any particular date you have in mind?"

She threw up one of her hands, "I don't know. Dinner?"

Another nod, "Alright, where?"

"Jesus Christ, Julius, this isn't a bidding at one of your art shows. Just take me to dinner."

"No," he stated clearly, "This is your date so you tell me how you want it to go."

Michelle huffed. God, this man was so difficult. She thought for a few seconds, mentally think of any restaurant she's eaten at lately. There was a restaurant that she'd been that she really liked but she dismissed that thought. "I don't know, a Caribbean place?"

"Caribbean or Africa?"

Michelle glared but Julius didn't waver. Fine, if he wanted her boss him around like her little puppy than she would do just that. "I want to go to Kabash," she stated, "It's a Moroccan restaurant by the riverfront. I want you to pick me up at six and we're going to Leaf for pre-dinner cocktails. Kabash doesn't service alcohol so we're getting it there. Make the dinner reservations for seven-thirty so we have at least an hour to drink before we eat. Afterwards, I want to walk along the river to walk off the stupidly large meal we're going to eat and from there, you can be creative."

She finished, glared, fully expecting him to outright laugh at her proposal but Julius, for the first time since she saw him in two weeks, grinned at her.

"Alright bella, I'll see you at six then."

"Tonight?" she asked in disbelief.

He chuckled and fiddled with his keys, "Unless you have a different day in mind…?"

She didn't.

"No," Michelle admitted, "Tonight is fine."

"Then, I'll see you tonight at six."

* * *

_A/N: Finally, the next chapter is here! It took like a week or two. But! But, but, but, I come with peace offerings in story form! I've written another little short for this unconventional paring that is finished! Tis only three chapters so, you know, easy peasy to right! Anyways, you can go read my peace offering if you like and don't stone me to death!_

_-CeCe ^^_


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